Heloise: Check pill amount, look

Dear Heloise: In regard to previous letters written about counting prescription pills, I wanted to share the following: I have on occasion counted my pills, but more important, I’ve taken the new bottle of pills back to the pharmacy because the pills didn’t look like the previous ones, and I wanted to be sure they were correct. They were correct, just made by another manufacturer. Better safe than sorry. — Tess, via email

Tess, good point. Most pharmacies should tell you if there has been a change, and some print it on the instructions and/or the bottle. When in doubt, call the pharmacy, which wants to help you. Thanks for the safety reminder! — Heloise

Dear Readers: Here are some uses for bandanas:

■ Use as a baby bib.

■ Fold and use to cover your eyes during a nap or plane ride.

■ Sew a few together to make a pillow.

■ Use as a scarf for your dog.

■ Fold it and use as a headband.

— Heloise

Dear Heloise: There are many hints I use daily from Heloise. One is the extra shower-curtain rod in the shower.

My all-time favorite is the use of a white piece of paper (I use cardboard) behind a needle to be threaded. It makes it so much easier to see the eye of the needle. Without this hint, I would have had to give up both machine- and hand-sewing.

Thanks for all the great hints from the past, and I’m looking forward to many more. — M.G., via email

Dear Heloise: I got this hint from my wonderful mother. Rubber shelf-liner is good if you cut a square for a highchair. It keeps toddlers from slipping down out of the chair!

Another hint is for all the sports buttons we get for the kids and grandkids: Put a ribbon through the back and use them as a Christmas ornament from year to year! All the kids and grandkids love looking through the tree for their pictures! — Marybeth Warren, Leavittsburg, Ohio

Dear Heloise: Please allow me to wholeheartedly agree with the woman who wrote in about loud music in restaurants and stores. I once walked out of a restaurant because the music was unbearable.

While shopping, I like to browse and think about my purchases, but the music is so distracting and obnoxious that it drives me out of the store. Maybe if enough people write in, proprietors will get the hint! — JoAnn Dawson, via email

Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to 210-HELOISE or email it to heloise @heloise.com.